2012-9-25

Korea should pursue free trade in order to expand its global market base and pave the groundwork for sustainable economic growth, the top economic policymaker said Tuesday.

"Based on the recent sovereign credit upgrades (by major ratings agencies), (we) should prepare the ground for sustainable growth by expanding the market through free trade agreements (FTAs)," Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan told a meeting with other key policymakers.

In a related move, Bahk said that the government will push to establish the so-called "silk road of the 21st century" that runs through China and Russia to Uzbekistan by seeking free trade with those countries.

Free trade is regarded as one of the major tools for the Seoul government to expand its "economic territory" for the country's export-dependent economy.

In May, South Korea announced the launch of free trade negotiations with China, the country's largest trading partner. It already enforced FTAs with the European Union and the United States last year and this year, respectively.

Bahk said that he will also discuss details to resume FTA negotiations with Canada, which started in 2005 but came to a halt in 2008 amid a controversy surrounding the safety of Canadian beef products.

In an effort to expand overseas cooperation, the minister added that he plans to hold an economic ministers' meeting with his counterparts in Brazil, India and Qatar in the months to come. (Korea Times)